“Our stints were perfect” - Max Verstappen praises Red Bull strategy despite not pitting during early VSC as he grabs 5th consecutive F1 win

Max Verstappen stormed his way to victory at the 2023 F1 Austrian GP, gifting his team a win on their home track. The Dutchman has now won five races at the Red Bull Ring, making it his most successful track statistically.

Verstappen once again dominated the rest of the field but failed to lead every lap of the 71-lap race. The two-time world champion was confident enough to box in the penultimate lap of the race, winning one extra world championship point.

The 25-year-old has now surpassed Ayrton Senna's all-time win record - with 42 wins to his name.

Verstappen was also able to manage his race perfectly, despite a number of drivers receiving penalties for track limits.

Speaking to former Red Bull driver David Coulthard in Parc Ferme after the race, Max Verstappen said:

"We opted not to box during the virtual safety car and just follow our normal strategy and that worked out really well because the tyre life was not that high around here and I think our stints were perfect".

Max Verstappen would outperform Lewis Hamilton in the Red Bull, claims F1 pundit

F1 pundit Peter Windsor claims Lewis Hamilton would not be able to match Max Verstappen's dominance even if he were in a Red Bull. Windsor cites Verstappen's 'symbiotic' relationship with his team, particularly with Adrian Newey.

The RB19 has won every race so far this year, making the Austrian team the dominant force in the sport at the moment. Many feel that Hamilton would be able to take the fight to the Dutchman if he had the same car.

However, Windsor believes that Verstappen's relationship with technical mastermind Adrian Newey would give him the edge. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:

"In order for them to be teammates, it would mean Lewis joining Red Bull. In that situation, I think it would be Max. Because Max has this symbiotic relationship with Adrian and, to some extent, with Christian but more importantly, with Adrian.

"And Max knows Adrian's brain pretty well. Lewis will be chiming into that and he'll be getting into his racing car and it will feel great."

He continued:

"In terms of overall in a season, I think it would be almost impossible to beat the Max Verstappen-Adrian Newey partnership even if you're Lewis Hamilton."

With many teams bringing major upgrades to Silverstone, it will be interesting to see if anyone can stop Verstappen's reign of dominance. As it stands, the Dutchman is the most successful driver of the year.